America the Violent

For me the Newtown mass shooting is a familiar refrain.  I have no idea what sets off an individual to take random lives like that, but it happens much too frequently in our society.  The first one of these I specifically remember was in August, 1966 when Charles Whitman went to the top of the University of Texas tower and began shooting.  He killed 14 and wounded 32 others--none of whom he knew after having just murdered his mother and wife.  The siege ended with Whitman being killed by policeman who entered the tower.  I've also had two friends killed in multiple shootings.  In 1993 Frank Ditullio and 2 others were killed by Paul Calden while eating lunch.  Calden was a disgruntled former employee who held a grudge over being let go by the company Frank and the other two worked for.  Calden subsequently killed himself after leaving the scene.  In 1999 Joe Dessert happened to be at All-Tech Investment when Mark Barton entered the office and killed him and  3 others.  He then killed 5 more individuals at Momentum Securities across the street.  Barton killed himself later that day as police approached his car.

These three occurrences are only the tip of the iceberg.  There have been so many of these over the years that some of them do not even get national attention unless they involve many many victims, or other unusual circumstance.  We are left to wonder if things like gun control, improved mental health treatment, police in every school, or any number of other things could have prevented these past events or reduce the chance of them happening in the future.  Maybe they can be reduced over time but it's not likely to ever end.  After all America is the country that overturned the Colonial British Empire, tamed the wild west, drove the Indians onto reservations and maintained segregation for a century after the abolishment of slavery.  Many innocent lives were lost due to the violent nature of these events.  They remind me that random violence existed in America long before we had 300 million guns, video games, and closed state mental institutions.  I understand there is risk inherent in every day--I just hope to avoid becoming a random target.  Maybe someday these random mass shooters will start testing their weapon on themselves--FIRST--not last.